Live it!

2 moms

Our little girl has 2 moms that love her, myself and her birth mom in Vietnam. I wish I knew her, I wish there was a way I could hug her and say thank you and promise her that we will love Meg with every ounce of our being, for every minute we have on this earth. I think of Meg's first mom often. I thought of her a lot on Meg's first birthday and I think of her whenever my baby girl does something new, or funny, or sweet. She is a part of Meg and therefore, a part of me too I think.

Today, I read an article written by a woman that was adopted from Vietnam during the Vietnam war in the 1970's. This quote from her writing really resonated with me and I wanted to share it: "A final word for adopted Vietnamese: Due to ...poverty many mothers had nowhere to turn for assistance and being unable to care for her child, giving her child to an orphanage or abandoning her child for someone else to find and care for was done in the hope of providing a better life. It was not a matter of a mother not loving or not wanting her baby, but rather a desperate act to hopefully provide her child with a better future knowing that the mother herself would be unable to do so."

I believe with all my heart that our lil' Meg has a mom in Vietnam that loves her very much. I cannot imagine having to make the decisions her birth mom made, decisions that led Meg into our arms and hearts .

I hate to hear someone speak negatively about the birth parents in adoption. I hope people read this quote and remember that Meg is with us because someone loved her very much. I wish I could give her birth mom the peace of mind at least of knowing that she is an amazing child that fills our house with joy. She is a gift. Truly.

Help for Haiti

My good friend Tara is doing great things for the people of Haiti. She is currently raising funds to provide to those in need - if you have a second, please go check out her blog at: www.eyeswideopenow.blogspot.com

I've known Tara since I was a tween and she has always had such a big heart... I love that about her. She is selling really pretty earrings on her site right now and they are (get this!) only $5. All the money goes to Haiti. Shipping is super cheap too, just the cost of a regular envelope. What a simple way to make a difference - buy some up for yourself or as pretty gifts for friends and family. You'll be getting some pretty ear candy and helping out the people of Haiti at the same time!

Tara, you rock!

Meg is 13 months old

...and tomorrow I promise to take her photos. I've been a bit of a lazy girl with my camera. Usually I have an after-Christmas down time and I'm still going through it. I just am hating the snow this year because I had forgotten how much work it is to dress a baby up in snowgear that she hates and then put her in a heated truck where she'll cry from being too hot. I admit I've become a bit of a hermit these days... enjoy my time at home with Meg and also Keaton and Chloe when they are home from school.

Meg is doing wonderful. She went to the doctors a couple days ago and is finally on the growth chart. She was far below even the 1st percentile for several months now but at 13 months she has found a spot on there and appears to be climbing up the charts slightly. She weighs 18 lbs 4oz and I forget how long she was... but lets just say she is a shorty - like me! The doctor was very pleased with her improvements and weight gain, etc. She is really filling up and she has the chubbiest legs now - such a huge difference from her little twig legs back in Vietnam. She never stops eating it seems and is still waking up 2x during the night to eat full bottles. Oink Oink, right?!

Food: Her favourite food is fruit, all kinds but most especially Bananas. As soon as you put Meg in her highchair, she starts chanting the word: 'anana. It is so cute. She also eats all table food now, she hates pureed foods and wants to only feed herself. With only one tooth still (she finally got her first tooth on Christmas Eve at 12 mo old) I really have to chop up her foods tiny or give her things she can mash with her gums. She likes meat, cheese, high fat yogurt, most veggies, all fruits and is drinking both formula and homogenized milk now.

Fun: Meg is such a character at home. When we go out in public though she doesn't say a word - she is quiet and watches everything around her. At home, she 'lets her hair down' and loves to crawl around the house getting into things. She has the most fun when her brother and sister are home & they are so good with her - they love her so much. Meg plays peek-a-boo with anyone that will participate and never tires of it: often doing it every 10 minutes - all DAY long. She also loves to clap clap clap. She is walking behind her push toys and around furniture but is much too cautious still to try and take any unassisted steps. I don't imagine she'll be walking on her own for a few more months, but who knows for sure.

Baby talk: Meg is not a big talker. I notice when it is just her and me all day long, she doesn't say a lot or babble much. I am going to need to start finding ways to get her chatting more. When Keaton is with her though, they have these long crazy 'conversations' where he says some baby words and then she seems to try and repeat them right back. These chats usually happen on the way to hockey in the backseat of the truck and it is funny how she responds to him that way. She does have words though like: momma, dada, nana, 'anana (for banana), tata. That is about it so far.

Meg is amazing. I can't imagine what life was like before she was part of us.

I promise a photo tomorrow!

Will we ever sleep again?

We are going through a particularily rough patch in the sleeping department with Meg. She naps okay during the day (sometimes one longer nap, sometimes 2 short naps) but during the night it is not fun. Last night is a good example of what we are dealing with and it has me so puzzled. She is one year old and I'm surprised with how many bottles she is still insisting on during the day and night. She has 3 bottles during the day, sometimes 4 (6 oz bottles). Then she goes to bed at 730pm. She wakes and cries for a minute a couple times before Shaune and I even go to bed at 11pm.

Last night went like this:

Bed at 730pm

Wakes at 10pm for bottle

Wakes at 1 30am for bottle

Wakes at 430am for another bottle

When I say 'wakes' I don't just mean she is awake in her crib and crying a bit. She is gulping down these bottles and her diaper is soaked through to her pj's by 430am feeding.

Her doctor told me that at her age, she requires somewhere around 160z of milk or formula. He told me to go ahead and put her on homog.milk but I have been resisting that since she got a late start in the nutrition department.

So, what in the heck is going on? Chloe was an excellent sleeper. Keaton was not but by one year old he was just crying in his crib because he was a restless sleeper and out of habit. He never required bottles out of hunger. I do not know what to do but Shaune and I are a prime example of the walking zombies lately and it is no fun. Love my sweet Meg but something seems to be going on.

Do you think she is just going through a growth spurt and we should continue pumping her full of formula each night (that equals 18 oz of bottles just during the night, and approx 18 - 24 oz of bottles during the day!)

I'd love some advice.

Why not?

Over the past 2 yrs leading up to our adoption of Meg, we would often be asked what made us decide to adopt. We were healthy, relatively young when we started the process (me 35, Shaune 33) and we had 2 beautiful children biologically already. Why?

I think for everyone that decides to bring another child into their lives, it is a calling - your heart telling you that things are not quite as they should be yet. For a few years after Chloe was born and we had our 'million dollar family, a boy and a girl', life was consumed in diapers and busy, busy, busy. I thought we were done, we even went as far as giving away ALL our baby stuff, right down to the crib.

Well, Chloe grew out of diapers and Keaton started school and my heart started really tugging me towards a 3rd child. Almost instantly, and I'm not sure why - I felt that our third child would come to us through adoption. Shaune seemed to have that same pull and was on board from day one. I didn't have the desire to be pregnant again even though both my pregancies with Keaton and Chloe had went wonderfully and I enjoyed pregnancy. I don't know if it was God's way of pointing me towards Meg... but within no time Shaune and I were falling deep into the process and couldn't think of a better way to expand our family. The time, cost and uncertainties that followed didn't damper our desire for another child in the least. We feel so lucky that we were able to somehow do this and now we have this beautiful, miracle Meg that takes my breath away when I catch a glimpse of her beautiful happy face. I can't imagine life without her a part of it.

So, why adopt for us was never really even a question. Sometimes a wish is planted in your heart and you aren't sure where it came from or when it started - but you know it is a wish you can make come true so you go for it. For us, Meg is with us because she was destined to be. I thank God daily for that seed, that wish he planted in our hearts. We adopted because we were meant to be in Meg's life... and she is meant to be in ours.

Ode to 2009: It was a great year!

January meant hockey, lots of snow, outdoor fun and still waiting on our referral from Vietnam.

February was an amazing month. We got our call on Feb. 20th about a little girl in Vietnam named Ngo Thi Bao Thy that would become our daughter. Photos followed... and a lot of celebrating!

March madness meant I didn't take many photos. We celebrated March break for the kids and then time seemed to come to a screeching hault as we learned of Meg being so ill in ICU at a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. What followed was a lot of prayers and concern. Miraculously she somehow pulled through and by the end of April was off her ventilator and waiting to be discharged into her nanny's care. Our friends threw us a terrific baby shower to celebrate our upcoming trip to Meg.

May was a wild month. The kids were full on into soccer and we were at the soccer field 2x a week for 2.5 hrs each time. We were also happily packing for our trip to Vietnam... the excitement was buzzing around our house. (ps: that is my dad in his masonic lodge gear in the lower photo)

 
June was THE month... the time we had been waiting for (for over 2 yrs!) We boarded a plane that would take us to Hong Kong and then on to the bustling Ho Chi Minh City. It was a trip of a lifetime and most importantly we were finally with Meg. She was so tiny (only 10 1/2 lbs at 6 months old) but beautiful and she had us wrapped around her finger immediately. Back on the home front, Keaton and Chloe were missing us but keeping busy with soccer, hockey parties (where Keaton was awarded this cool trophy), play dates and the end of a school year. We missed Chloe's 6th birthday while we were away but she was celebrated in style at her favourite sushi restaurant. We were in Vietnam for almost 5 weeks and although it was such a joy to be there, my heart ached daily to be back home with all 3 of my children together.

   
In early July we boarded a different plane and headed back home to our family. It was so exciting and I will NEVER forget the joy and relief that washed over me when we were all reunited in the Toronto airport. The next month flew by with Meg getting to know our family and friends and me suffering from a major case of jetlag.

 
  
Summer time is always busy and August was no exception. We took Meg to her very first "Bean Bake" (my families yearly family reunion) weekend and she did great. We also met up with friends and spent a few days up at Sauble Beach in their cottage (heavenly!) Chloe was finally able to have her birthday party from June (when we were away) and invited her closest buddies to a party at the bowling alley. Lots of time in our pool, along with a trip to the Toronto Zoo finished off our month.

September took the kids back to school... Keaton to Grade 4 and Chloe to Grade 1. They did great getting back in the swing of things and I think Meg liked having her mommy to herself a bit during the day. Every afternoon when they'd come running off the bus, she would be clapping and so excited for them to be home again.

 
October was fun! We celebrated Thanksgiving with Meg at Aunt Ann's annual Thanksgiving for the Emerson's. Keaton had a hockey tournament in Gananoque so for the first time in forever, we weren't able to make it to the Boulter haywagon festivities (bummer!) We also had a nice visit with a family we travelled with in Vietnam - Meg got lots of cuddles from her sweet friend QuinnAnh. Halloween is always exciting for the kids... Chloe decided to be a 'diva devil' and Keaton wanted to be a zombie pirate. Meg was adorable as a little ladybug.

November is always hoppin' busy with hockey. I don't think we did much else but spend all our free time in an arena somewhere in Ontario.

This December it seemed like we were celebrating something every weekend. We started the month off with a trip up to Toronto to meet up with our travel mates from our trip to Vietnam. We all celebrated 6 months with our sweet children (Meg, Lia, Ava, Alexa and QuinnAnh) and had a great weekend. Keaton turned 9 years old on Dec. 13th and had a bowling party for his birthday celebration. Meg turned 1 on Dec. 17th and we had family over to celebrate with all asian cuisine that my mom and I had made for the special occassion. Christmas was a blast and flew by... the kids had a magical time for sure. To end the month (and year... and decade for that matter) off with a bang, we spent New Years Eve with the MacDonald family - a yearly tradition it seems. It was relaxed and just the perfect way to ring in the New Year. We cheered the Canada Jr hockey team to victory and enjoyed lots of tasty beverages and munchies too.

Thank you 2009, you gave as a truly amazing YEAR!